Prayers and Pancakes

After I have a long day at work, I usually think about a couple things on my bumper to bumper, I-94 inbound drive home:
1) Should I go to the gym? Maybe...not.
2) What should I have for dinner? What's Dave having for dinner? What's Dave doing right now?
3) How did Clair Huxtable, working woman of the world, do this and raise four kids?
4)What's my mom doing? Is my Dad still at work?
5) <Insert prayer here>

You are probably wondering - why the heck do you think about Clair Huxtable? Clair Huxtable is one of my favorite television characters of all time. I remember watching The Cosby Show as a kid and admiring her sophistication, parenting skills, career as a hard working lawyer, and comedic chemistry between her and Cliff.


Clair: Cliff, why do we have four children? Cliff: Because we did not want five.



Thinking about hard working Huxtable parents automatically makes me think of my own, especially my Dad.  My Dad works incredibly hard but always makes time for two things: prayers and pancakes. Since I was llitle, I  have always looked up to my father as a spiritual mentor. He is someone who always makes time for God in his life along with his family. One of my favorite things to do is go to church with my Dad on Sundays.  We go to 7:30 am mass and then (every once in awhile) pancakes! We catch up and talk about life...sort of like Rudy and Cliff sitting at the kitchen table drinking apple juice and eating sandwiches. 
Just as a good breakfast is the "best way to start your day", a good Sunday morning at The Pancake House with Dad is a great way to start the week. I feel centered spiritually and motivated to give my best at work, with myself, with my family and most importantly with God. At the end of the day, on the trip home from a long day the office, nothing really matters except that we are living our lives in a way to gets us to heaven...and that we say a prayer in thanksgiving for those who are helping us get here.

Breathe Deeply

One of the things I often forget to do is breathe.

Today I was going through some pamphlets that the hospital gave me on "Your Recovery After Surgery" and it recommended that I "breathe deeply".

Seriously?

To my suprise, it read that patients often forget to breathe deeply after surgery and it's important to do this to prevent lung problems and increase endurance. What this pamphlet should have advised was that most people (with or without surgery) forget to breathe. Sometimes I'm so worried, anxious or caught up in my own thoughts that I forget to step back and just let air in and out.

One of my favorite sections of Oprah's O Magazine was "Breathing Space". I'm not sure if this content still exists in her most recent issues, but basically it was a two page spread of a large scenic landscape that was simply marvelous: a mountain beside a babbling brook, a field of wildflowers, or a stary night sky.  It was a nice break from the Dr. Phil advice, Slim Fast ads, and "oh yeah here's some of O's favorite things that you probably can't afford but isn't this $150 engraved wine bottle opener cute?!!!" pages.

This blog has been a "deep breath" in my recovery from surgery and honestly in the past month I forgot to take a step back and just....